I Fought the Law
}} I Fought the Law is a side quest in Fallout: New Vegas. Quick walkthrough Detailed walkthrough This quest is given by Eddie at the NCR Correctional Facility in the administration building. He's the man sitting behind the desk on the second floor, surrounded by guards. Talking to him and asking how you can help out is all that is required to start this quest. * If you acquired a "shunned" reputation with the Powder Gangers by completing the Ghost Town Gunfight, you will still be able to talk to Eddie in order to receive this quest but assaulting anyone in the prison or gaining another level of infamy will turn the Powder Gangers hostile upon your entrance. Completing the Nipton quest, Booted or the Vault 19 quest, Why Can't We Be Friends? may provide a sufficient boost to your faction reputation, provided you're not "Vilified." If the Powder Gangers are hostile still, you can talk to Eddie by using a Stealth Boy outside the entrance and sneaking all the way to Eddie (this however might not work). Stand up and immediately talk to Eddie and the quest can be initiated. A Stealth Boy will be required each time you go back to talk to Eddie until the quest ends with the NCR confrontation. It's also possible to acquire Powder Gang simple outfit or any other Powder Gangers outfits (also including Powder Gang guard armor) to disguise yourself and infiltrate the camp, then take out everybody besides Eddie in the Administration Building with a silenced weapon. Once only Eddie is left, it's advised you save and walk up and talk to him before he sees through your disguise. Once done talking get out of there as fast as possible again. Chavez The first task you'll be given is to "take care" of a Powder Ganger named Chavez, who Eddie believes is setting up his own crew without permission. He is located at Powder Ganger camp south, which is just south of the prison. You can either convince him to "move on" with 30 Speech skill (35 XP) or kill him (20 XP, 80 XP total if his guards are killed). Talking to him without being able to pass the speech skill will result in combat. Killing him (and/or the other Powder Gangers with him) won't cause any reputation loss with the Powder Gangers, and interestingly, his "crew" may not turn hostile if you kill Chavez in front of them. Killing him or his crew after convincing him to move on also doesn't cause any reputation loss with the Powder Gangers. Whichever way you decide to do it, return to Eddie and let him know Chavez is handled to gain Powder Gangers fame +1. Traveling merchant The second task is to "deal with" a suspicious traveling merchant residing at Jean Sky Diving. If you have 6 Intelligence or 30 Speech, you can convince him to reveal that he's actually a bounty hunter by pointing out that he lacks a pack brahmin to carry supplies and protection (only the speech option provides 30 XP). You can try to shake him down for a "toll" (30 Speech required, 30 XP). The bounty hunter may attack you even after you convince him to leave, even if you are not dressed as a Powder Ganger. If the prior options fail, the merchant can be killed without Karma penalty, plus his death yields 20 XP, though he carries a stimpak and will use it if attacked. Once the merchant has been dealt with, report back to Eddie to gain Powder Gangers fame +1. NCR attack Finally, you'll be asked to find out about the NCR's plans for the prison. Head to Primm and seek out either Johnson Nash or Lt. Hayes. Nash will cough up the information for: * 100 caps with no skill check * 50 caps if you have 30 Barter * 20 caps if you have 30 Barter and appointed a new sheriff to Primm * Free if you have 30 Speech Any of the skill check options will award 30 XP. Hayes will only tell you that military orders are classified, unless you already know - either by pickpocketing the "Military orders" off him, and/or by getting the information from Nash first. Once you have the information, you can either report back to Eddie or betray him to Lt. Hayes, and help the NCR take back the prison. Side with Powder Gangers If you report back to Eddie, he'll reward you with 1 Buffout, 1 Psycho, 1 Mentats, 100 caps, and 200 XP. He'll say that the NCR is already here, and tell you to feel free to kill some of them on the way out. As soon as you exit the building, the assault will begin, and NCR troopers pour into the facility and attack. You won't lose reputation with the NCR for informing on them; however, all the soldiers assaulting the base will be hostile to you, which will likely cause NCR reputation loss as a result of shooting back (only if you kill any of the soldiers). Alternately, if you change into NCR armor before exiting the building, the NCR invaders will be neutral, but some Powder Gangers will be hostile. If Powder Gangers defeat the attackers you can speak with Eddie who will thank you. You will gain Powder Gangers fame +12. Side with NCR If you instead choose to betray Eddie to the NCR, you can choose the dialogue path with Lt. Hayes where you ask to help in the assault. He'll tell you to rendezvous with Sergeant Lee, located just to the south east of the prison (on a hill, approximately in line between Powder Ganger camp south and the prison). Once you initiate dialogue with him, he'll give you a short "briefing," and the assault will begin. The quest will end once Eddie is dead, but as the Powder Gangers will rush out into the courtyard for the battle, Eddie will most likely be one of the last Powder Gangers alive anyway. You'll be awarded 300 XP for completing the quest, and gain reputation with the NCR. The NCR reputation is gained by speaking with Lee after Eddie dies. If Lee dies during the assault, you won't gain NCR reputation. Lee may mumble something about reporting back to Lt. Hayes after the quest has finished but, if My Kind of Town has already been completed, he will be gone from the NCR camp at Primm. You may run into him later at Camp Forlorn Hope. It is possible that Hayes and some of the troops under his command were sent to Hope, and that is why some troops at Forlorn Hope say that they got reinforced by troops from Primm. Quest stages Notes * It is possible to kill all the Powder Gangers before the assault on the prison (including Eddie) and complete the quest (by implementing sneak kills with a silenced weapon to avoid Powder Gangers infamy, then kill Eddie when you're told to report to Sergeant Lee - reporting back to Sergeant Lee after killing Eddie will generate an automatic mission success). ** Killing Eddie prior to that point will create a mission failure. ** By doing this it is also possible to gain the rewards for helping Eddie (300 XP instead of the normal 200), only become shunned (camps won't attack the player) by the Powder Gangers (See Notes) and gain the reputation increase with the NCR. First, betray Eddie to Hayes. Then, instead of talking to Lee outside of the prison, head on in. Speak to Eddie prior to killing him and let him know about the attack, stealth kill him and equip NCR faction armor (armor optional), then run outside and through the visitor's center to speak with Lee as he is running (from the left) inside. Keep running after speaking to him and over the ridge if you lack NCR faction armor. He'll reward only NCR reputation and not Powder Ganger infamy, as the latter would normally occur at this point but doesn't due to turning the quest in first to Eddie. Similarly, the player gains the 300 XP for the NCR completion even though the quest is finished by Eddie. *** However, if the player uses the above method, all the NCR troopers inside the administration center will be hostile to the player from that point on (even days or weeks later) if the player ever enters the area without an NCR faction disguise equipped. * Powder Gangers in the scattered camps are hostile to the player until Neutral or Shunned reputation is established, avoid killing them loudly to be able to speak to Eddie initially. * It is possible to talk to Eddie without a Stealth Boy, even if you are vilified by the Powder Gangers. The easiest way to do this is to kill Powder Gangers who can see through your disguise (Dawes, Carter, Hannigan, bodyguards, etc), and stealth kill all other Powder Gangers (you can leave Meyers alone). You will probably have to remove and put your Powder Gangers faction armor back on to reset your rep back to neutral, and also wait around until they no longer sense you, so they no longer appear as hostile. Using this technique, you can get rid of every Powder Ganger at the NCR Correctional Facility except for Eddie and Meyers. Then, every time you want to talk to Eddie, run in and talk to him before he has a chance to get up. When dialogue ends, run out of the room so he can't see you and turn hostile. You can also try to sneak behind the computer on his desk and back away. * Killing all of Eddie's guards stealthily may allow you to get to Eddie and initiate dialogue without hostilities, as a workaround for the above issue. If he becomes hostile when you approach him after his guards are dead, try running quickly at him and repeatedly trying to talk. If you get to him before he stands up, he will talk to you. Also, you can sneak behind the computer on his desk after the talk, back away to the wall, then stand up and walk away. * If you want to help the Powder Gangers or sit back and let the NCR and Gangers fight it out (without betraying them), it is recommended that you visit the Cell Blocks and the Visitor Center, so that more Gangers will join the fight. This will lead to a slightly more even fight. * If you want to be certain to complete the quest, (and not intervene), you will have to visit each cell block, otherwise the NCR will just kill the Powder Gangers in the yard, then the Admin building. After Eddie is killed the NCR troops will go into idle mode and walk around the building leaving the Powder Gangers alive in other buildings. One named Powder Ganger may remain in one of the cell blocks, (a sneak kill if you want to keep your rep intact). * You can "arm" Powder Gangers before the fight if you want them to win. Just reverse pickpocket your weapons and armor in to their inventory before the battle (before you tell Eddie about the attack). Don't forget to supply them with ammunition for new weapons. Arming them with armor piercing ammunition is especially effective since that will negate NCR troops armor advantage. Single bullet is enough, non-player characters get unlimited supply automatically. Steal their regular ammunition to ensure they use AP one. In order for them to equip new items, enter any building and save/reload or go to different game-cell and come back. * So long as you don't complete the last section of this quest the NCR Correctional Facility admin building's refrigerator will re-spawn 3 to 6 random food items at least once every game week. Stealing these items will still result in a small loss of Karma, and if caught, the Powder Gangers will attack. * If you have low Intelligence when reporting to Eddie after dealing with the bounty hunter, you will say "I got rid of the bunny hunter." * Although the player can pickpocket the attack orders from Lt. Hayes before the quest, the player will still be unable to initiate the attack on the Powder Gangers or speak to Lt. Hayes about the attack at all until the player is given the choice during the quest (this also mean the player cannot complete this quest if they are hated by the Powder Gangers). Behind the scenes * This quest is a reference to the song of the same name by Sonny Curtis & the Crickets, more famously covered by the Bobby Fuller Four in 1965, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgtQj8O92eIThe Clash in 1979 and Green Day in 2004. * A number of cut and partially completed dialogue options exist which point towards the final portion of the quest having had additional options for helping out. In particular, a number of incomplete topics would have allowed the Courier to offer suggestions as to how Eddie could better defend the facility, including posting more guards and placing snipers on the guard towers. * The Courier was also being given the option to free Chavez from the prison.Pick the lock to Chavez's cell Bugs * Completion of this quest in favor of the NCR will not register the proper result. Even though you gain the fame for success, Mr. New Vegas will report the mission as a failure, as will the ending narration. * Sgt. Lee may freeze on the steps to the admin building and will not finish dialogue - thus preventing NCR fame. Shooting weapon out of his hand which will turn Lee hostile but then holstering weapon immediately which will return Lee to turn friendly will unfreeze him. * If the player passes the Intelligence or Speech check to make the bounty hunter admit he's there to collect Powder Ganger bounties, the question "So what are you still doing here?" will still be available. If selected, he will answer, "Uh, you know, just filling up water and stuff." This response is in support of his cover story rather than the truth he has just admitted. * The explosions that opened the entrances for the NCR troops will not detonate mines or C-4, giving an easy way to finish this quest however you will gain infamy from the NCR. * If the players sides with the Powders Gangers, but have neutral or positive reputation with the NCR, Sergeant Lee won't be hostile to the player or the Powder Gangers unless he see the NCR troopers getting attacked. Lee will rush to Eddie's room and stand there for the rest of the game, saying "Shut up and fight!" if the player tries to talk with him. Once the NCR troopers dies, I Fought the Law will be completed, even if Lee is still alive. References Category:Fallout: New Vegas side quests Category:Powder Ganger quests es:Por Encima de la Ley pl:Walczę Z Prawem pt:I Fought the Law ru:Путь исправления uk:Шлях виправлення